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Okay, but what do we call it?

Pauline Millard at The Huffington Post has a point…the phrase new media has lost its…well, its newness. And while I’d love to be able to move on, there really are no reasonable replacements. We still need a term that allows us to differentiate between this and the “old media,” aka traditional media, aka MSM. Interactive media works, but is rather clunky. But perhaps the best argument for “new media” is that it can morph over time, keeping up with the latest and greatest changes and never getting locked into a particular technology or point in time. New media is always new, and it can be used to describe the vanguard of the media revolution. Until we can come up with something better, new media works for me.

3 Responses to “Okay, but what do we call it?”

Thomas Johnsonsaid

Well, new media needs to be new, But is any media “new”. I’m sure that there is some form of media that is being thought up right now and it would be considered new. Maybe we could call it current or present media.

Whitney Johnsonsaid

Why not call the new media new? It is new media right? Its media that previous generations have not seen yet, so I think that term fits perfectly. Thats what makes it uniqueness because when you use the term new media it can only apply to the “new” technologies of media. My only concern is differentiating between when does “new” media become “old” media, and who is it that really gets to make that call or decision. Is it up to you and me?

charles cruzsaid

This is an interesting thought, if you once considered something new. Does it simply stop being new just because it’s been out for a while? Or does it no longer be appropriate to call it “new” if an updated form is released with a larger array of options and uses becomes available. I believe it would be best to consider the former “new” media as a digital media or 21st century media. Though this in itself could be considered too vague to be used a determining name or label. The determining difference between the old and the new media is the rate at which it is updated and available to the public. New media is updated by the minute if not by the second and is available to anyone via wifi or internet connection.